Xbox 720 and PlayStation 4 to go head to head in June

Sony and Microsoft are set to go head to head at the E3 games expo this June, with the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox 720 both purportedly to be given débuts at the LA based show.

That's the low-down according to gaming site MCV, who claims to have confirmed the details with "third-party publishing sources" who state that Microsoft had "signalled to partners" that it was all set and Sony would "not be left behind this time".

Microsoft famously beat Sony to the 7th generation console punch back in the mid-noughties with the Xbox 360 getting a head start on the PS3. A start that led to a lead it has never let slip.

This isn't the first E3 launch murmurs for the two consoles either. Back in November an Edge report stated that Ubisoft Montreal (the development team behind Assassin's Creed Revelations) is "hard at work on target boxes based on the intended specifications of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 successor" using PCs stacked with off-the-shelf components supplied by Microsoft itself with a view to an E3 showcase.

And, later that month Jim Ryan, PlayStation Europe's big cheese, said that it would be "undesirable" for the PS4 launch to lag too far behind the competition. Nintendo's Wii U is all set to hot shops this year, don't forget.

And if you think we're being presumptuous with our Xbox 720 moniker, you'll do well to remember that Microsoft itself has already revealed the name....sort of. In the Real Steel movie, which is set in the near-future, the logo can be spotted on advertising hoardings at the "Bing Arena" (alongside one for Virgin Galactic).

Pocket-lint reached out for comment from both Sony and Microsoft regarding the latest rumour. Unsurprisingly, they are both keeping tight-lipped on any future developments.